The Independent Travelers' Guide to Dublin

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“To travel is to live.” Hans Christian Andersen from his autobiography The Fairy Tale of My Life One of the most memorable days of my Scandinavian vacation was the day I spent in Odense, Denmark, getting to know Hans Christian…

“A house is designed to be a safe place we can return to after having adventures.” Dr. Anthony Gunn from his book Get Happy! “Don’t sell the skin before the bear is shot.” Swedish proverb I’m home. I have…

This week I’m on a tour of Scandinavia and our first stop was beautiful Copenhagen. I could tell you a few things about Copenhagen. I could tell you that only Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are Scandinavia. (Finland is Nordic, not…

I have been busy taking bus rides to Roundwood, County Wicklow. No really, lots of bus rides. And it’s been more fun than I can say. Ever since I went to the Glendalough Hermitage and spent two gorgeous days in…

As we pull into the pretty town of Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, population 2,500, Helen calls out to a tall, cute Irishman just walking by, “Where’s the hotel?” “Which hotel do you want? The closed one or the open one?”…

Helen and I hit the open road. Destination, the most beautiful place on earth. No, really. We’re not stopping until we go as far west as one can go in Ireland – to the seaside village of Dingle in county…

“I love Ireland. I feel very at peace there. It’s just magical and beautiful.” Eva Green I know what you mean, Eva. I like finding out that we are kindred spirits, at least regarding our mutual love for Ireland. But…

From Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart – THE JOYS OF PLAYING BASKETBALL by Boris Abramov Sometimes life is difficult and one wishes to relieve oneself of the pressures and the worries of life. Some people see a…

“My friends have made the story of my life.” Helen Keller I remember writing in my first post almost two years ago that it is the people that we meet along the way that make traveling the wonderful adventure that…

A traveler in Ireland would be the Irish version of a gypsy or a nomad or a bohemian. Some 30,000 travelers, sometimes called tinkers, still roam the country. Of course I don’t mean that I’m that kind of traveler.…

Dear Diary, There is nothing like a beautiful spring day in May to take stock of your life. And today I find that I’m pretty happy with myself. Of course everybody is a work in progress and along with the…

“I’m going to The Irish Writers’ Centre. It’s at 19 Parnell Square.” “Oh right, yeah,” the cabbie replies with something that makes me think that he is actually interested in where I’m going. He’s not bored. A bicyclist cuts in…

The almost one and a half million Dubliners have about 750 pubs to choose from in their fair city. But just like so many things in life, it’s not the quantity, but the quality that counts. And the quality of the…

“Crying is for plain women. Pretty women go shopping.” Oscar Wilde Oscar, I think this is my favorite of all of your quotes! I love when my lifestyle choices are validated! We all know that when the going gets tough,…

I understand now why everyone who has ever been to Prague loves it. Prague – the Golden City, the Mother of Cities, the Heart of Europe – is stunningly beautiful. More than six million visitors come to Prague every year…

“The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink, and somebody to love you.” Brendan Behan Dear reader, the first two things are easy, especially in Dublin. The third one can…

Dear readers, when last we spoke, I left you with a quote from the beautiful Hungarian artist Lili Orszag who said, “What I would like to do most is travel constantly.” I’ve been doing just that for the last…

Today I’m going to digress with a trip to Budapest. I’ve found that everything and everybody in Budapest is – how can I describe it? – well, let’s just say, very Hungarian. Not that that surprises me. I mean I…

“There are only two kinds of people in the world. The Irish and those who wish they were.” Anonymous In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to give you a little background on what is a national holiday here…

“God invented whiskey so the Irish wouldn’t rule the world.” Anonymous With one thing and another taking up my time, I realized the other day that I hadn’t been drinking enough. To rectify the situation, I headed over to the…

The days are getting longer now. It’s late evening and strips of pink divide the dark indigo clouds that have surrounded the city all day. Today was what the Irish call a “soft day” – a day when the rain…

“What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.” Irish proverb Everything in Dublin seems to be steeped in history and rebellion. Two shining examples would be the Teeling Whiskey Distillery and Kilmainham Gaol/Jail. The Teeling Whiskey Distillery is the…

“We have all a better guide in ourselves…than any other person can be.” Jane Austen I think Jane was saying that if you’re looking for advice from someone, look in the mirror. If you’re in Dublin, just look around you.…

“The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.” Oscar Wilde You can take the 140 bus to the north side of Dublin and Glasnevin Cemetery. One and a half million people are buried here; the same…

Today I met a girl from Dubuque, Iowa. I’ve never met anyone from Dubuque before. She tells me that Dubuque is on the Mississippi River and just two hours from Chicago, so she tells everyone here in Dublin that…

” All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” Sean O’Casey I have made yet another entrance to this isle across the sea and because I’ve been away for a while, I think I may have…

“You know how I usually dread the whole year. Well this year I’m only going to dread one day at a time.” Charlie Brown I’m as American as Charlie Brown. My heart beats red, white, and blue. But my DNA…

“I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.” Oscar Wilde Yesterday I went to Howth again. Americans want to say “Howth” just as it seems, but it is pronounced “Hothe”, an Old Norse word that means…

“Road tripping’ with my two favorite allies; Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies; It’s time to leave this town – it’s time to steal away…” Red Hot Chili Peppers Andrea, Helen, and I drove away from Dublin and took…

“The supreme object of life is to live. Few people live. It is true life only to realize one’s own perfection, to make one’s every dream a reality.” Oscar Wilde Late last night as I was contemplating which one of…

The first thing I see upon leaving my apartment building is this poster in the window of the Gutter Bookshop with the famous last eight words of James Joyce’s Ulysses – “and yes I said yes I will yes.” And…

“An Irishman was asked if the Irish always answered one question with another. ‘Who told you that?’ he replied.” Niall Toibin That’s it. That’s all there is to say about the Irish. You don’t need to read any further, but I’m…

Not all who wander are lost. I’m heartened by that sentiment. I think. It seems optimistic, but I guess it also implies that some people who wander might indeed be very lost, and then maybe a fewer still should never…

“I wanted real adventures to happen to myself. But real adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad.” from James Joyce’s Dubliners An adventure can be defined as an exciting or…

“All your compliments and your cutting remarks are captured here in my quotation marks.” from “Every Day I Write the Book” by Elvis Costello It’s been an unusually quiet evening here at the Oxfam charity shop just a few doors…

“La dolce vita” usually makes me think of Italy and wine and Fellini and men rescuing women from fountains, but I have happily found that “the sweet life” can be easily transferred here to Dublin. It’s one of those things…

It’s Wednesday, January 13, and everywhere I seem to hear the same thing, “Time is flying by.” It’s been flying by for me too. It’s already been a week since Susie and I took the Dart to Greystones, a gorgeous…

“Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” Liz Taylor Liz’s simple, life-affirming words are written in white on chalkboard paint on the strip of wall just below the ceiling in Foley’s pub on Baggott…

“Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.” Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass Thanks a million, Walt! Your words have inspired me for most of my adult life. (And to everyone out there, if you haven’t seen…

“When you make friends with the present moment, you feel at home no matter where you are. When you don’t feel at home in the Now, no matter where you go, you will carry unease with you.” Eckert Tolle from…

“I am a drinker with writing problems.” Brendan Behan What a fantastic quote, Brendan! And so very Irish – pithy, funny, truthful – everything that good writing should be. Brendan Behan is among the list of great Irish writers that…

“A turkey never voted for an early Christmas.” Irish proverb I can only imagine the dismay of the Irish turkeys when they find out that a few crazy Americans have imported the Thanksgiving holiday along with their accents, reality TV,…

“I love cities above all.” Michelangelo I really want to add an exclamation point and a heart emoji after that quote, but something tells me that Michelangelo wouldn’t approve of that kind of thing. Regardless, I want to…

“When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart.” James Joyce I’m finally feeling like I’m living in Dublin and not just staying in Dublin. I love waking up to the view from my third floor balcony. The clouds…

“Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.” Oscar Wilde With those inspirational words in mind, I have a…

E.M. Forster said, “Only connect.” Two words to live by, indeed. In fact, it’s my own personal mantra. I find that it seems much easier to connect when I’m traveling, but it’s one of those conundrums in life – do…